Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) announced yesterday that he would not run for re-election this fall. Here is one of the primary reasons Bayh gave for his decision.....

There is too much partisanship and not enough progress -- too much narrow ideology and not enough practical problem-solving. Even at a time of enormous challenge, the peoples' business is not being done.

Take a look at how Senate Republicans have used the threat of a filibuster since Democrats regained the senate in 2006....

It's what I call 'gaming the system.'

Here's Evan Bayh asking Obama a question at a very recent confab with Senate Democrats....

I think many people across the country candidly look at us and say, I don't know if the Democrats are willing to take this on (defciti reduction). They think we want to tax too much and spend too much, and do we have the backbone to really stand up and make some of these hard decisions?

I'd like to present it in a little bit different way that I think is on the minds of people in my state, and perhaps in the minds of independents and moderate Republicans and conservative Democrats around the country -- and that's this issue of the deficit and rising debt, and restoring the fiscal health of this country to a position where it ought to be.

So my question to you, Mr. President, is speaking to independents, conservative Democrats, moderate Republicans -- people who know we have to do this --
why should the Democratic Party be trusted? And are we willing to make some of the tough decisions to actually head this country in a better direction?

Bayh called on President Obama to veto the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill passed in mid-December....

“It’s bad for our country’s finances," Bayh said at the time. "It’s bad for our children because we are going deeper into debt to China. It sets a terrible example by showing that
politicians are totally out of touch with the sacrifices middle class Americans are making."

"I think for some of them, it's that they don't pay as much attention to the deficit," he told Fox News. "They just don't focus on economics."

Here's Bayh yesterday voicing his discontent with the Senate's recent vote against forming a 'deficit commission'.....

Two weeks ago, the Senate voted down a bipartisan commission to deal with one of the greatest threats facing our nation: our exploding deficits and debt. The measure would have passed, but seven members who had endorsed the idea instead voted "no" for short-term political reasons.

So, Evan Bayh is a genuine fiscal hawk Democrat who is simply fed up with the paralysis in the Senate. The Senate, according to Bayh, won't "pay attention to the deficit." So fed up is he that he just can't stand it anymore.

Or maybe not....

Here's Evan Bayh "focusing", you know, "on economics."

In April, 2009, during the Obama omnibus spending bill debate, an amendment to totally eliminate the estate tax on the top .2% of Americans garnered 48 votes. One of those yes votes to eliminate all estate taxes was cast by.....wait for it....Evan Bayh. Bayh, obviously, was "focusing on economics", when he cast his vote to give the very richest Americans a break. Bayh focused like a laser on the necessity for helping out the poor, top .2%.....while diminishing the federal government's revenue even further. He was "focusing on economics."

Bayh, a self-proclaimed deficit hawk, willing to guard against out-of-control government spending no matter what......had no trouble, whatsoever, voting to put Bush's Iraq war on the national charge card. Same with Obama's Afghanistan escalation...

WALLACE: Senator Bayh, you brought up the question of cost, and the administration has put the cost -- and this is kind of astonishing to, I think, a lot of people -- $1 million per soldier per year, so if you sent 30,000 soldiers, that would be a $30 billion price tag.

Now, some top Democrats are talking about the idea -- the new idea of a war tax to pay for the escalation in Afghanistan. Good idea?

BAYH: No, I don't think it's a good idea, not at this point, Chris. First of all, you need to provide for the nation's security regardless of your financial situation, and there's no bigger deficit hawk in Congress than I am.

....we've got to look at cutting spending in other parts of the budget before we even talk about raising taxes.

To summarize then........Evan Bayh is full of sh*t....and always has been.

"It's impossible to find a more perfectly representative face for the rotted Washington establishment than Evan Bayh. He is the pure expression of virtually every attribute that makes the Beltway so dysfunctional, deceitful and corrupt."

Good riddance....Mr. Bayh. No one who is honestly concerned about national deficits or government spending is going to miss you. One of the very reasons today's Senate is so dysfunctional is....Evan Bayh.